How the Bible Still Speaks to Us

Robert Alter’s edition of the Hebrew Bible has drawn close to a million readers through a translation that restores the meanings and rhythms of the ancient Hebrew and an illuminating companion commentary. Now Alter distils a lifetime of study into a brief, incisive loving overview of the Bible’s indelible moments and their power to move us still. Taking in the foundational early texts as well as later books, Alter explores the moral complexity in the stories of Abraham and Sarah, Saul and David; the searing poetry of the Voice from the Whirlwind in Job; the erotic power of Song of Songs; and the resilient companionship of women in Ruth. Alter sprinkles the text with fascinating comparisons to the Iliad and Odyssey, and to modern works as well. Here is an irresistible invitation to Alter’s many readers and those just curious about the Bible as literature.

Robert Alter’s The Hebrew Bible was praised as:

• "[A] godsend. The foundational texts are here given their due in prose at once modern and magnificently cadenced. Immediately readable, immensely learned, an education and a restitution…" — Seamus Heaney, Times Literary Supplement
• "Sober, clear, and fluid… Masterful commentary." — Edward Rothstein, The New York Times
• "Alter is amazingly successful..." — Christopher Tayler, The Guardian
• "Monumental…” — The Economist